St George's Fields

Originally the area was an undifferentiated part of the south side of the Thames, which was low-lying marshland unsuitable even for agricultural purposes. There is evidence of Roman occupation. As at Lambeth Marsh, the settlement was built on raised through roads over the marsh lands. These were likely summer residences, for in winter the land was under water. A monastery is known to have existed at Bermondsey before 715 AD. Bermondsey is likely to have been a higher, drier spot in an otherwise marshy area. The area was part of the king's demesne. In 1082, according to the "Annales Monasterii de Bermundeseia", Alwinus Child obtained a royal license to found a monastery dedicated to St…

The obelisk at St George's Circus was built in 1771 in honour of Brass Crosby, the Lord Mayor of the City of London. It was moved to the north apex of Geraldine Mary Harmsworth Park, (the remnant of Moulton Close) a short distance to the southwest, in front of the museum, in 1905, and put back in its original spot in the late 1990s. The obelisk was mentioned in the novel David Copperfield by Charles Dickens: